Both bathrooms are almost complete. The master bathroom and secondary bathroom both have new paint (a lovely nautical shade of grayish-blue), new towels, and crown moulding. But we’re still missing two key elements: baseboards, and new sinks. Well, I don’t mind the current sinks, but I do mind the rose/salmon pink color of the vanity counter top that is surrounding them. Blech! The color worked nicely enough when the walls were an annoying shimmery pink/peach color, but now that the hideous wallpaper has been painted over, the pink towels replaced with light grayish-aqua ones, and a white/blue shower curtain hung in the master bathroom, we really need to get those sinks replaced.
I have seen some great deals on vessel sinks, but I’m not sure if that’s the look I want. Generally a vessel sink is rather fancy and elegant looking, and while our bathrooms are nice looking, they don’t have, nor will they ever have, that “ornate” look to them, if you know what I mean. But a vessel faucet isn’t something I’ll rule out entirely, because you never know, I may come across one that I like.
I’m not sure where on the to-do list new bathroom sinks/faucets/stands come in, but I do think I want to get a new microwave (an over-the-range style) first, so that I can have more counter space in the kitchen. I’m in the kitchen a lot more often than I am in a bathroom, so I think the kitchen will ultimately win out!
Until last fall I used standard facial cleansers during my daily showering routine (I wash my face while I’m in the shower – is that weird?). Then Apothederm contacted me and offered me the opportunity to review one of their products to review. I ultimately chose Apothederm Brightening Cleanser, which contains 28 key ingredients (and a few others) that were chosen specifically for their ability to remove dead skin cells, oils, and general impurities; unclog pores; reduce fine lines and hyperpigmentation; and overall leave skin looking and feeling refreshed and renewed.
I have been using Apothederm Brightening Cleanser for several months now, and I love it. I convinced Dan to give it a try, and to his surprise it doesn’t cause any burning or other skin irritation that he so often experiences from other facial cleansers. Apothederm Brightening Cleanser definitely has a permanent home in our shower.
Read the full review at In My Bag.
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Disclosure: Apothederm provided me with a free product in exchange for my honest review.
My uterus has completely ignored the fact that after my right-on-time period that started on December 14th and ended on December 20th, I had another one that started on December 27th and ended on January 3rd. Less than two weeks later, and here we go again. No significant bleeding yet (TMI, I know, but most of you who have followed my blog for any length of time shouldn’t be surprised by this), but plenty of hellalicious cramping. I don’t see my gynecologist until the end of the month, so in the meantime my family doctor refilled my prescription of muscle relaxants, to see me through these next few weeks.
Speaking of doctors and such, I have an appointment this coming week to get my vitamin/mineral levels checked. I have a feeling that I’m going to be deficient on Vitamin D, because stupid stupid really stupid me just figured out that for the last four months, I have been depriving myself of half of my daily requirements for Vitamin D. Ahh! And even though I have been taking in the right amount of calcium (citrate, not caltrate), Vitamin D is needed to help with calcium absorption. And since I’m no doubt deficient in Vitamin D, I could also be deficient in calcium. That might explain why my stress fracture hasn’t healed, even though I have been in this walking cast for nearly four months now. 
Vitamins, muscle relaxants and Midol all go well together in terms of keeping me going. 
Today Amanda, Brandy, and Krystal are all coming to visit! I have egg noodle lasagna in the crockpot, dinner rolls ready to be heated up in the oven, mini-cupcakes (purchased, not made1), and a lovely meat & cheese tray that Dan cut up and assembled this morning, while I was up to my eyeballs in minced garlic, green onions, and ground beef.
All in all, it should be a good day. I just need to make sure that Ryan keeps his pants on, and his hands out of the girls’ cleavages. (My son is not a pervert… he just has a comfort thing with sticking his hands on breasts and between them!)
- because for once I’m lazy and didn’t feel like baking ↩
![[Book review] Ultimate Guide to Cunnilingus](http://www.jenn.nu/wp-content/plugins/ttftitles/cache/f1b961c66c622abcfe31dfd189508908.png){kind=small}
Disclaimer: this is a review of a sex book.
The lovely Janice of Beautiful Home set me up with a plug-in electric wax warmer (one of many types of available warmers) and several varieties of wax melts from her store, and I couldn’t be happier with how wonderful my home has been smelling over the last several months. While I clean my house daily and we all do our part to keep things clean, there’s no denying that homes can begin to smell a little stale or blah, especially when it comes to homes where several pets (namely cats, though dogs certainly add their own odor to think) reside. Wax melts and warmers are a great alternative to standard electric plug-ins, whose scents are often enhanced by chemicals of questionable safety; and definitely a great alternative to candles, which can be messy and dangerous around pets and children. Plus, they’re pretty, and many different types of great-smelling scents are available to choose from.
Beautiful Home is home to many different wax warmers, including plug-in warmers (I love these because the light bulb not only provides heat which melts the wax, but also provides a lovely ambient lighting that makes for a great night light), and small and large dish-style warmers.
Then there are the wax melts. Oh, the wax melts. I could go on forever about these. Janice sent me several, including Autumn Spice, Pumpkin Vanilla, Bubblegum, Fantasy, and Enchanted. Autumn Spice and Pumpkin Vanilla are two warm, spicy, perfectly-scented scents to use around Thanksgiving and even into Christmas time. Then there’s Bubblegum. Wow, does it ever smell like gum! Alyssa promptly claimed it for use in her bedroom. Fantasy and Enchanted are two incredibly gorgeous scents – Enchanted smells just like Victoria’s Secret’s “Love Spell”! And Fantasy is an equally warm, girly, fruity scent that ranks second only to Enchanted.
Warmers range from $14.50-$24.50; 6-pack wax bars (3 ounces worth of wax) are just $4; and aroma melt minis (packs of 2-3 wax melts) are just $2.50. If you love a particular scent, stock up by purchasing one or more wax bars; if you want to try a new scent, or just like having a lot of different scents around, you’ll definitely want to take advantage of the smaller and more cost-efficient melt minis. You can also try the entire collection of scents available from Beautiful Home by ordering the sampler collection for just $7.50.
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Disclosure: Beautiful Home provided me with free products in exchange for my honest opinion.
